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  • Author or Editor: Jing Huang x
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Microbial fertilizers can activate and promote nutrient absorption and help inflorescence elongation. To understand the molecular mechanisms governing grape (Vitis vinifera) inflorescence elongation after microbial fertilizer application, we comprehensively analyzed the transcriptome dynamics of ‘Summer Black’ grape inflorescence at different leaf stages. With the development of ‘Summer Black’ grape inflorescence, gibberellic acid content gradually increased and was clearly higher in the microbial fertilizer group than in the corresponding control group. In addition, the microbial fertilizer and control groups had 291, 487, 490, 287, and 323 differentially expressed genes (DEGs) at the 4-, 6-, 8-, 10-, and 12-leaf stages, respectively. Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes pathway annotation revealed that most upregulated DEGs were enriched in starch and sucrose metabolism pathways at the 6-, 8-, and 10-leaf stages. Weighted gene coexpression network analysis identified stage-specific expression of most DEGs. In addition, multiple transcription factors and phytohormone signaling-related genes were found at different leaf stages, including basic helix-loop-helix proteins, CCCH zinc finger proteins, gibberellin receptor GID1A, 2-glycosyl hydrolases family 16, protein TIFY, MYB transcription factors, WRKY transcription factors, and ethylene response factor, suggesting that many transcription factors play important roles in inflorescence elongation at different developmental stages. These results provide valuable insights into the dynamic transcriptomic changes of inflorescence elongation at different leaf stages.

Open Access

The art of pressed flowers is a method of artistic expression involving the pressing of flowers, leaves, and other plant organs for artistic creative purposes. However, the pressing process often results in color variation of the plant material, which significantly diminishes the quality of artistic works and must be solved using appropriate techniques. During this research, phenylalanine (10 mmol⋅L−1) was used to treat the petals of postharvest Petunia flowers to investigate the impact of phenylalanine on mitigating color variation, and the effect of phenylalanine on inhibiting the color variation of Petunia petals during the pressing process was evaluated by color measurement, physicochemical indices, and gene expression level analyses. Using the CIEL*a*b* color measurements, the samples from the test group had significantly higher brightness (L*) and red coloration (a*) at the final stage (S4) than the control group. In addition, phenylalanine had a significant inhibitory effect on malondialdehyde and superoxide anion accumulations in Petunia petals during pressing and reduced the enzymatic activities of superoxide dismutase, polyphenol oxidase, and catalase. The quantitative reverse-transcription polymerase chain reaction analysis showed that the transcript levels of CHS, DFR, F3′5′H, and UFGT genes in the petals of the treatment group continued to increase during the pressing process, and the transcript levels of key genes in the anthocyanin metabolic pathway of the treated samples were higher than those of the control group at the final stage (S4). These results indicated that phenylalanine can effectively diminish the color variation of Petunia petals in the pressing process, which could serve as a theoretical basis for the development of a comprehensive technology system aimed at preserving the color of pressed horticultural plants.

Open Access

Wintersweet is a woody ornamental plant and has a long history of human cultivation. Few molecular markers have been characterized and remain scant in wintersweet. This study aimed to mine simple sequence repeats (SSRs) and single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) from the transcriptomic database of wintersweet. A total of 3972 SSRs and 97,060 putative SNPs/indels (92,307 SNPs and 4753 indels) were identified in this data set. This study marks the highest number of SSR and SNP markers discovered to date from wintersweet by using transcriptome sequencing data. These identified markers will provide a useful source for molecular genetic studies such as genetic diversity and characterization, association mapping, and map-based gene cloning in wintersweet.

Free access

The aim of the present study was to evaluate the effects of alternating red (660 nm) and blue (460 nm) light on the growth and nutritional quality of two-leaf-color pak choi (Brassica campestris L. ssp. chinensis var. communis). Four light treatments (supplemental alternating red and blue light with intervals of 0, 1, 2, and 4 hours, with a monochromatic light intensity of 100 μmol·m−2·s−1 and a cumulative lighting time of 16 hours per day) were conducted in a greenhouse under identical ambient light conditions (90 to 120 μmol·m−2·s−1 at 12:00 am) for 10 days before green- and red-leaf pak choi were harvested. The results showed that the two-leaf-color pak choi receiving alternating red and blue light exhibited more compact canopies and wider leaves than those under the control treatment, which was attributed to the shade avoidance syndrome of plants. The present study indicated that the biomass of green-leaf pak choi was much higher than that of red-leaf pak choi, but the nutritional quality of green-leaf pak choi was lower than that of red-leaf pak choi, and seemingly indicating that the regulation of metabolism for pak choi was species specific under light exposure. The trends of both biomass and the soluble sugar content were highest under the 1-hour treatment. The contents of chlorophyll a and total chlorophyll in both cultivars (green- and red-leaf pak choi) were significantly increased compared with control, without significant differences among the 1-, 2-, and 4-hour treatments, whereas chlorophyll b exhibited no significant difference in any treatment. Alternating red- and blue-light treatment significantly affected the carotenoid content, but different trends in green- and red-leaf pak choi were observed, with the highest contents being detected under the 1-hour and 4-hour treatments, respectively. With increasing time intervals, the highest soluble protein contents in two-leaf-color pak choi were observed in the 4-hour treatment, whereas nitrate contents were significantly decreased in the 4-hour treatment. Compared with 0 hours, the contents of vitamin C, phenolic compounds, flavonoids, and anthocyanins in two-leaf-color pak choi were significantly increased, but no significant differences were observed in vitamin C, phenolic compounds, and flavonoids among the 1-, 2-, and 4-hour treatments, similar to what was found for the anthocyanin content of green-leaf pak choi. However, the content of anthocyanins in red-leaf pak choi gradually increased with increasing time intervals, with the highest content being found in the 4-hour treatment. Supplemental alternating red and blue light slightly increased the antioxidant capacity [1,1-diphenyl-2-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) radical scavenging rate and antioxidant power], but no significant differences were observed after 1, 2, and 4 hours of treatment. Taken together, treatment with an interval of 1 hour was the most effective for increasing the biomass of pak choi in this study, but treatment with a 4-hour interval should be considered to enhance the accumulation of health-promoting compounds.

Open Access

Hydrogen sulfide (H2S) has been proven to be a multifunctional signaling molecule in plants. In this study, we attempted to explore the effects of H2S on the climacteric fruit tomato during postharvest storage. H2S fumigation for 1 d was found to delay the peel color transition from green to red and decreased fruit firmness induced by ethylene. Further investigation showed that H2S fumigation downregulated the activities and gene expressions of cell wall–degrading enzymes pectin lyase (PL), polygalacturonase (PG), and cellulase. Furthermore, H2S fumigation downregulated the expression of ethylene biosynthesis genes SlACS2 and SlACS3. Ethylene treatment for 1 d was found to induce the expression of SlACO1, SlACO3, and SlACO4 genes, whereas the increase was significantly inhibited by H2S combined with ethylene. Furthermore, H2S decreased the transcript accumulation of ethylene receptor genes SlETR5 and SlETR6 and ethylene transcription factors SlCRF2 and SlERF2. The correlation analysis suggested that the fruit firmness was negatively correlated with ethylene biosynthesis and signaling pathway. The current study showed that exogenous H2S could inhibit the synthesis of endogenous ethylene and regulate ethylene signal transduction, thereby delaying fruit softening and the ripening process of tomato fruit during postharvest storage.

Free access